ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the corporate workplace from the point of view of planning and design. The nature of office work may be changing, but millions of people still flock to the workplace everyday. Office property still forms the backdrop to most working lives. Frank Duffy's assertion that office interior redesign and refurbishment will be key to matching the demands of knowledge economy with the activities and capabilities of the workforce is in line with own position on this subject. Review of the Welcoming Workplace project and other research studies leads to some familiar targets: acoustics, lighting, information technology, furniture, ergonomics and ambience. The acoustic intervention based on an intelligent reactive sound system was welcomed for the control it gave the user over what type of sound should replace general background noise. Wave keyboard installed as technology intervention. The Rain Curtain, a natural intervention designed by Catherine Green of the RCA Helen Hamlyn Centre.
